To be a Pure One
by TRikiD
Summary: The escape didn't go as planned, and Soren and Gylfie are taken captive. But a surprise awaits Soren when Nyra spares them both for his devotion to the Pure Ones in return. As Soren trains to become a Pure One alongside his brother, he learns that Kludd was right, and that those soft-headed dreams of his were only a weakness.
1. Chapter 1 - Praise for License

To be a Pure One

Chapter 1 - Praise for License

"Oh, Soldier! You mustn't confuse praise for license— _never_ lie to me." Kludd felt himself shrink when the beautiful Nyra laughed at him, and it was even more demeaning when she encouraged the thought of Soren's worth.

But he kept a straight face as Nyra slowly walked around him, and she spoke again, "For the Lord High Tyto, we need as many strong flyers as we can find. Come, let's tell your brother what rewards there are for those who recognize their _true_ family."

Kludd's eyes wandered in thought at that statement. Could a soft-headed, day dreamer like his brother really see the beauty of the Pure Ones, their motives, their beliefs?

Well, if he was honest, if Soren could believe the silly stories that came out of his Da's beak, then maybe—just maybe—he could believe in the Pure Ones, too.

Not wanting to squander Nyra's liking towards him, Kludd agreed with her plan to find Soren and give him another chance to train to become a Pure One soldier. And if he didn't—well, they had ways of making owls do what they wanted.

Of course, they couldn't fully rely on Moon Blinking, for too much would destroy even the strongest soldier's mind and senses. No, they needed Soren fully aware of the Pure Ones' strength and resolve.

Unfortunately, Soren wasn't in the Pelletorium like they had expected, or like he should have been; Nyra gave Jatt and Jutt a good scolding when they knew it was their fault Soren and, seemingly, another owlet disappeared. But they had managed to hear word from a couple of guards that they saw just the owlet they were looking for with the loyal soldier, Grimble.

Not questioning Grimble's motives, Nyra ordered the guards to lead them to Grimble and the owlets, but by the time Kludd and Nyra entered Grimble's cave, an unwanted surprise was waiting for them.

They overheard Grimble telling Soren and a young Elf Owl about the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, and what's worse is that he tried to tell them which way to go. And when he said he couldn't go with them because of the sentence he earned to protect his family, all hope of escape was finally crushed.

"I'd come with ya—but I still hold out the hope of freeing my family."

"Really?"

Grimble and the two owlets gasped at Nyra's soft yet terrifying voice, and her red glare burned through them all while Kludd and the two soldiers rallied behind her.

"Go," Grimble demanded, unfolding his wings protectively.

"Kludd, come with us!" Soren begged, but all he got in response was a sneer and a disapproving shake.

"Go, now!" Grimble shrieked.

"Get them!" Nyra yelled, and one of the soldiers immediately took flight and extended his battle claws to slice at the old Boreal Owl's throat. And even though Grimble managed to swipe away the soldier's razor sharp claws and tear at his torso, he failed to react to the second soldier in time.

When the Boreal Owl finally noticed him, it was too late. In seconds, Grimble's feathers were stained with even more red, and a gaping hole made its way across his neck and chest. Life quickly slipped away from his eyes, and he soon collapsed to the ground in a raspy, hoarsely-breathing mess.

"Kludd!" As soon as Soren looked back to call out to his dear brother one last time, he immediately regretted it when he saw the motionless body of the kind old owl that attempted to help them, as blood was now pooling all around it.

Soren immediately froze and stopped in his tracks, unable to pull his eyes off of Grimble, and Gylfie nearly slid off of the edge of a loft, which overlooked some of the colorless canyons, when she stopped to look back at her friend.

"Soren?" Gylfie whimpered.

"Take the smaller one back to the Moon Blinking Chamber," Nyra firmly instructed the surviving guard, and he instantly nodded in respect. He flew over to Gylfie with one beat of his giant wings, and grabbed her with his claws in a vice grip.

"No!" Everyone froze when Soren's voice shattered the air, even the guard stopped before flying off again with Gylfie still in his grasp. "Don't hurt her, please! I-I'll do anything!"

Those words slipped off of his tongue by accident, but he knew he really meant them. And a certain Ablah General knew he meant them, too.

"Do you really mean that, Little Tyto?" Nyra inquired with a grin, "Because if you do not come with us peacefully, I assure you, you will _never_ see your patch of felt again."

"Soren," Gylfie's tiny voice quaked, and Soren quickly turned to his tiny friend, "Whatever it is they have planned, don't believe them. Don't do anything. Just run. I'm not worth it."

"No, I won't let you die, or even succumb to Moon Blinking, because of me. You're my friend, and I would do anything for you," Soren sincerely reassured and draped a wing over the Elf Owl, but the guard instantly shrugged it away when the feathers brushed his claws.

"Ugh, I'm gonna yarp," Kludd muttered in disgust, the gooey, touchy moment being too weak for him.

"I will not wait forever. Answer me now, or the Elf Owl is as good as dead." Nyra's warning did not fall on deaf ears. He knew more than anyone that to be a true and noble owl, just like the Guardians in his father's stories, sometimes making an ultimate sacrifice is the only solution.

"I-If I go with you—you promise Gylfie won't be killed or Moon Blinked?"

"She will be our prisoner, but no harm will come to her—so long as you prove yourself to us."

"Then I accept." Again, Soren's response was quick and confident, but he hung his head and closed his eyes in sorrow.

"Take her to the Prison Chamber. Keep her alive," Nyra told the guard, and he instantly nodded and flew off with Gylfie, who stared back at Soren with tears in her eyes.

The tall and beautiful Ablah General then averted her attention back to Kludd's younger brother, "Don't fret, Tyto. Soon, you will learn that the majesty and greatness of the Pure Ones is everything you ever desired."

* * *

 **What will it take to convince Soren to fully believe in the Pure Ones? And how good of a Pure One will he make? Only time will tell.**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Rise

Chapter 2 - Rise

Soren was petrified. He hadn't seen Gylfie since yesterday, and he could hardly sleep through the day with the thoughts of his new friend being all alone and in the claws of these monsters.

Being the one to keep a close eye on him, Nyra was first to notice his obvious paranoia. But the last thing she needed was a scared soldier showing his face to the Lord High Tyto, so she was determined to fix this young Tyto, one way or another.

"Stand up straight, Soldier! Pure Ones reflect nothing but strength and nobility!" the Ablah General snapped at Soren, as she led him to a large chamber, where the rest of the young soldiers in training were waiting. There was a gaping hole in the middle of the room with a flat-tipped perch in the middle; Nyra was soon aloft and stood atop the perch while keeping her eyes on her newest student.

"First, we need to test what experiences of flying you have so far," Nyra began, which instantly reminded Soren of Grimble's lesson, "As soon as you can prove yourself to me, we will then begin to test the speed of your flight against your fellow peers—now, rise."

"W-What?" Soren squawked.

"Rise!" Nyra screeched as her feathers ruffled in impatience, to which Soren shuddered and unfolded his wings. He figured she wanted him to literally rise, so he jumped up as high as he could, beating his wings with all his might. Soren half expected to crash back down to the unwelcoming stone, much like in Tyto after he and Kludd fell out of their tree, but the impact never came; instead, he continued to rise like his weight was quickly diminishing.

"Higher! Higher!" Nyra demanded with an appeased smile, as Soren continued to fly higher like she wanted. _He may prove to be a worthy soldier yet,_ Nyra thought in amusement.

Soren continued to fly upwards, drawing the attention of the other students, specifically his brother; Kludd looked up in amazement, as he never expected his wimpy younger brother to show such strength out of nowhere.

"Isn't that your brother?" Vaygar, a male Tasmanian Masked Owl and the second best trainee in Nyra's class, asked Kludd with a smirk.

Kludd refused to look at his most hated rival, but he quickly wiped away his shocked expression, "Yes, it is. Why do you care?"

"If he's as good as you, I'd better prepare myself." Vaygar failed to notice Kludd's aggravated growl when he averted his attention back to Soren, who was still trying his best to stay aloft.

"Descend," Nyra demanded softly, and Soren immediately let out a huge breath and stopped flapping; he practically fell face-first and made his peers chortle in amusement, but he ignored them as he panted.

Nyra smiled, "Have you ever flown like that before, Tyto?"

"N-No…never…m-my wings hurt," Soren huffed, his wings remained sprawled out around him from the exhaustion.

"That's good, Soldier. Pushing past your limit is most valued here, so never stop—until you drop dead." Soren shrunk slightly when Nyra's voice deepened at that last part, but her proper posture remained. "Come along, Everyone. Let's show Soren what you've all learned so far—get to the Pelletorium! Now!"

In a flash, the rest of the trainees took flight and dove down to the grey chamber below, racing towards a large perch in the midst of the picking owlets below; Kludd quickly took the lead with Vaygar close behind.

Soren slowly walked to the other side of the room where Nyra stood, and they both watch with different reactions at their speed. Nyra was pleased with their obvious strength and determination to win, while Soren was just plain flabbergasted; he never knew Kludd could be so…powerful. And soon enough, Kludd won the race and perched at the very top and radiated with victory.

"You want to be strong, fast, and brave, don't you?" Nyra inquired calmly.

"I…I just want to live," Soren slowly replied, reluctantly looking up at the Ablah General.

"Good. With your help, your species will thrive like never before. I assure you, Soren, you could be the fleck that tips the scale someday."

"And if I don't want to be?"

"Then you'll perish with the lower species."

* * *

The guard carrying Gylfie handled her with carelessness, every banking turn being rough and sharp. But he made sure to get her to the Prison Chamber without any— _major_ injuries; a few tiny wounds from his battle claws won't be enough to get Nyra's attention, so what's the harm?

The Prison Chamber was smaller compared to most other chambers, as everyone there was either Moon Blinked or smart enough to resist. But Gylfie was an exception this time, as the guard threw the Elf Owl into a small holding cell and trapped her by pushing a barrier of thickly woven branches in front of the opening.

The guard turned his back to the cell and stood stiff, "Stay quiet and still, Filthy Scum."

"Y-You're really not g-g-going to kill m-me?" Gylfie quivered uncontrollably, pressing her back against the wall to get as far away from the soldier as possible. The soldier didn't respond, as his black and red-colored feathers glistened in the moonlight. But as pretty as he appeared, Gylfie was still petrified.

 _This can't be happening. I have to get out of here,_ Gylfie thought in fear, he mind instantly drifting to Soren, _Why save me?_

* * *

Nyra decided that the trainees' lessons would be shorter today, and let them return to their sleeping chambers with their newest peer. But the nests were located high up in the crevices, which were too high for Soren to reach by foot.

The others easily flew up to tuck in and relax, and they quickly noticed that Soren was clearly struggling to fly and join them.

"Why don't you just sleep on the ground like the clumsy seagull you are?" Vaygar called down mockingly, making the other students laugh; even Kludd couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

But one trainee didn't find it funny. He was a Sooty Owl named Phillip, and he felt guilty for Soren because he could relate, so he flew down ant landed next to him.

"You'll get used to it. I did, anyway," Phillip reassured with a weak smile and small voice.

"You don't need to pity me. I know you think I'm terrible, too," Soren sighed sorrowfully before ruffling his feathers to sit down on the cold stone floor.

Phillip shook his head, "I don't think that at all! I'm just like you, you know. I can barely keep up with them, and Nyra barely notices me."

"The less the Pure Ones pay attention to you, the longer your free will shall last."

Phillip gazed at Soren in realization and nodded.

"I agree. I never wanted this. But it was either this or death—I despise one more than the other."

"That's understandable. We all make sacrifices for righteous and sometimes selfish reasons. That's how we were made, after all."

"Well, then," Phillip began firmly, "Whenever you feel what you're doing is wrong, just remember that you're fighting for something. Even Pure Ones can see that that's noble."

With that, Phillip flew back up to his crevice and looked back down at Soren one last time; Soren looked back up and felt the need to smile, but just couldn't bring himself to, so Phillip pulled his head in and disappeared into the rocks.

* * *

The sun had risen high in the sky and bleached the canyons of St. Aggies' in its light. But some guards were posted all about the area to keep the owlets in check, and one Pure One in particular had a special mission of her own.

The Ablah General of the Pure Ones captured a large cricket before flying to the Prison Chamber with the plan to visit a specific prisoner. Once she landed, she signaled the guard to move with a simple wave of her wing, and she hastily grabbed the wooden bars in her talons and pulled them away.

Inside the small, dim hole was a slumbering young Elf Owl, but she was rudely awoken when the sunlight seeped in and burned her eyes; though, she quickly distinguished the features of the while owl before her, and chirped in terror while backing up against the wall.

Even though a plump cricked was tossed into the Elf Owl's cell as a peace offering, she still remained in a state of terror.

"You have no need to fear me, Low Life. I have no intention of harming you—as long as you do as I say," Nyra explained gently, "Now, take the cricket before I change my mind."

Ignoring her fear, Gylfie instantly felt the pain of her starvation, so she snatched the cricket and back up again, gulping the insect down desperately. Gylfie sighed in satisfaction and calmed down a small bit.

"Thank you. Now, if you want to live, all I need you to do is answer a few questions," Nyra added before looking to the guard, "Pull her out."

The soldier nodded and reached in, pulling the tiny owlet out of the cell and nearly ripping open some of her old wounds. Gylfie began quivering audibly again, but she managed to look Nyra directly in the eyes; not that she could look away from her intense gaze.

"Pray tell, what did Grimble tell you about the Guardians?"

* * *

 **At least Soren isn't completely alone, and he seems to have had a little taste of a real great victory. How much longer until he thirsts for it?**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


End file.
